Dragged to the Depths
by Serendipity302
Summary: She was the most beautiful creature that God had ever created but there was also something unnatural about her, something which seemed to contradict everything else.  The story of Philip and Syrena.
1. Philip and the Siren

**Hi everyone!**

**This is my first fanfiction and I just wanted to let you all know that I am totally open to your ideas - so if you want something specific to happen between Philip (!) and Syrena, leave it in a review or a message! I'm really excited to write this and I hope you all enjoy it :)  
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**Thanks! R&R! xx**

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><p>Where he was absolutely sure before, now he was perplexed.<p>

She was surely the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. The most beautiful creature that God had ever created but there was also something unnatural about her, something which seemed to contradict everything else.

When he looked at her, he was unsure of what to think — as if she had the ability to cloud his thoughts and confuse him as nothing else ever had.

In her exquisite beauty, there was danger, hatred, and a looming sense of innocence. While the other mermaids had looked to devour him and the other men aboard the small dinghy, she was the one who saved him and she was the one who was truly different. If only he had a change to speak with her.

Philip glanced over at the mermaid in the glass coffin. She looked tired. It was only a while later that he realized she couldn't breathe.

"She can't breathe," he said. "She can't breathe — you're killing her!"

Jack looks over from the far side. "I support the missionary's position."

A few men had turned to see what was causing this outburst. They all looked at the mermaid, the alluring and frightening creature, laying lifelessly in the glass case they had made for her. None of them were willing to get near her after what the others had done. Many of them had fallen in the water and saw the havoc and anarchy that the hideously beautiful creatures lived by and brought with them in their glowing and tempting eyes. Philip was the only one who knew her innocence, the only one who knew she was good and kind and more beautiful than the others because of what she had done.

He went over to the coffin and tried hopelessly to open it. When the siren realized what he was trying to do her drooping eyelids raised and pressed harder on the glass.

Philip touched the lock and looked for something to break it.

"You can't do that," said one of the pirates. "She'll escape and do you really want one of them on land where we'll be sleeping?"

"With a face like that, I wouldn't mind," said another.

Philip looked scornfully at them and brought a rock down on the lock as hard as he could. It cracked and he was able to fit his Bible into it, even though Blackbeard insisted on keeping it shut.

He was not going to let anything happen to her no matter who he had to defy.

The mermaid pushed herself up toward the air and took her first new breath since earlier that morning. When she looked at him, he felt her casting her spell — the one he had seen the other pirates fall for but tried to ignore it — she was one of God's creatures and they all deserved a chance to live but what is the price he would pay to keep this one alive?


	2. Captains

**Thank you everyone who favourited my story or added it to their alerts, I really hope you enjoy it but remember that I am always open to constructive criticism so if there is anything you see that you think may be better presented in a different way - feel free to let me know !**

**I've decided that each chapter is going to have alternating POVs (between Philip and Syrena) so if you enjoy one more than the other bare with me ... Hope you all enjoy this chapter - I'm starting to move away from the movie plot now ! :)**

**Thanks ! R&R ! xx**

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><p>It was hours before the sun began to set. The scorching humid air began cool and the condensation that had collected on the walls of the glass prison throughout the hot day began to drip back into the shrinking pool of seawater underneath her.<p>

The pirates carrying her in the glass case had begun to lag behind the rest of the group. The only thing that had not changed since they left the beach was the missionary's errant staring. She looked at him and for the first time she saw his face clearly. The man had unblinking piercingly green eyes, sun-soaked skin and a leather cord around his neck with an insignia she had never seen before.

Before she had the chance to look closer at the man she had saved from a painful death, the bottom of the glass tank hit a rock as the pirates climbed over colossal tree roots and shattered. The mermaid, and the water that had pooled under her, spilled out onto the ground of the rainforest. She looked up frantically at all the men who were leering at her. Her shimmering coral tail vanished and was replaced by a pair of willowy white legs.

Searching hopelessly for someone who would help her hide her nakedness, her eyes fell on the green-eyed one who she had saved.

He stripped off his vest and then his shirt, draping it around her like a cloak to hide her from all the men who were less willing to help her. One of the men laughed. She felt her face flush and hide her face from the rest of them.

"It's all right," whispered the now shirtless man. "I won't let them hurt you. As long as you're with me, you're safe, I promise."

He looked around and it was as if he could hear all the men's thoughts as loudly as she could. It was in that moment that all the regret she felt for watching her sisters eat the other men vanished. They were sniggering and staring at her as if they were going to eat her.

The leader walked backed from the front of the group and looked at her as disgustingly as the rest of the men were.

She tried to stand and fell harder than before. The shirt slipped off her shoulder and nearly exposed her again.

"How are we supposed to get her there now?" asked one of the less intelligent men. "Should we rebuild the — "

"No," said the leader. "She'll walk or die."

"I'll carry her," said the green-eyed man. "We can't leave her here."

He scooped her up like a child and they pushed forward.

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><p>When they stopped to rest, she was glad that they were done for the night. Even though she was the one being carried and he was the one who was carrying her, she felt the air pressing down on her, crushing her and making it difficult for her to breathe. She needed some water — and she wanted to go back to the beach. All of the creeks and brooks on the island led out to the ocean. All she needed was the man to let her down in some water and she was home free.<p>

"Where is the creature," said the leader.

"Don't call her that! She has a name!" said the green-eyed man. He placed her down on one of the larger tree roots.

She looked from the man who she had saved and was now saving her from the other men.

The leader reappeared in through the thick brush.

"Oh?" he said, with a malicious smile on his face. "And what, pray tell, might that name be?"

"Philip…" the only other woman warned him. She looked so much like the leader that it was impossible to ignore their resemblance.

Philip. She relished the name and looked back at him, waiting to hear his answer. She had not given him any name — not that she had on in their language. Both the leader and the other men waited to hear what her name was — she was the most eager of them all. He looked at her with all the innocence of a child.

"Syrena," he said, looking from the leader back to her. "Her name is Syrena."

"Very well," he said, "and in any case — bring her here."

"He wouldn't defy Blackbeard, would he?" he heard Gibbs ask no one in particular.

"He is a preacher," said another. "Who knows what he's going to do."

Philip reluctantly picked her up and brought her to the leader of the men. She held onto him because she trusted him. Even though she trusted him, she was still scared of the man who was calling for her.

"This is killing her," he said boldly, hoping for some leniency where he knew there would be none.

"I'm a bad man."

"Captain — "

"Mr. Swift…"

She was ready for the leader to yell at Philip — to be angry at him for what he had done but what he said surprised them both.

"Mr. Swift, you are not one of us," the man said. "You are as much a captive as … _she_ is. Give her to one of the others and please allow us to continue on."

She looked from Philip's handsome sun kissed face to that of the other men who had captured her. Philip's face contorted to an expression of frustration and uncertainty. He sets Syrena down on the same root he had let her down on before. A number of men stepped forward and Philip glared at all of them but still they came forward.

"Who will step forward?" asked the leader, upon seeing Philip's territorial reaction.

There was a chorus of men who openly stepped up, all yelling and shouting things that were irrelevant and vulgar.

"Stop!" said the man.

There was silence.

"I'll do it," came a voice from the shadows.

They all turned to see Jack Sparrow.

"Jack," said the leader, sounding surprised. He looked at the woman and smiled. "Yes. Let's carry on then."

Philip watched as Jack threw Syrena over his shoulder and jumped over the tree root. She squealed and tried to get down.

"Jack," Philip warned.

He spun around in reply with his arm out. "Yes? Is there something wrong?"

"Don't carry her like that," he said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said.

"Syrena," Philip said.

"Who?"

"The mermaid," he hissed.

"The mermaid? I haven't seen one, but if I do I shall inform you immediately," said Jack. He turned around again and hurried forward.

Philip pulled a pistol off the waist of the man next to him and walked next to Jack. He clicked the gun and pointed it discreetly at Jack. "Not like that," he said.

Jack threw Syrena up and caught her like a child. He knew Philip never would have pulled the trigger but Angelica looked scornfully at him and he changed his mind. "Put it away, son."

Philip fell a ways behind Jack and Syrena when a few of the men pushed him back.

Syrena stared contemptuously up at Jack. Her grip around his neck loosened so that he was forced to support more of her weight. He chuckled, knowing full well what she was doing.

"And what reason do you have for disliking me, love?" he said. "I can understand your sisters, particularly Tamara after what happened a while back — but I've never met you — especially not on land." He smiled at the memory and looked down at her, forcing her to look away.

Syrena hissed in pain as the knife in his vest hit her.

"Sorry, darling," he said. "You know this is not the first or the second encounter I've had with your sisters — hopefully it won't be the last — I find you all lovely on land." Jack looked nostalgically at Syrena — a look that does not escape Philip's notice.

"I think it would be all right for me to carry her now," Philip said, keeping pace with Jack who was now only a few paces behind Blackbeard.

Blackbeard stopped quickly and turned around. Philip stood rigid — standing up against the captain, sure that Blackbeard was going to say something to him for disregarding his clear instructions. Instead, Blackbeard walked over to Jack and whispered something in his ear that not even Syrena heard.

"Give the missionary a chance to blacken his soul," he said, snickering.

Jack looked suspiciously from Blackbeard to Philip. "You know, Blackbeard … "

Blackbeard turned swiftly around, glaring at Jack.

"That vest looks splendid on you," Jack continued, smiling innocently. "I suggest you buy more … at whatever shop you tend to frequent."

The men flanking Blackbeard glared at Jack as Blackbeard turned back around.

Jack walked over to Philip with Syrena and dumped her in his arms. "Here you go, mate. That's some precious cargo. I'd take care of her if I were you."

Philip and Syrena looked hatefully at Jack as he walked over to Angelica.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her, as if speaking too loudly to her would harm her.

"I think I can walk," she said, her voice was quiet and her English was accented but otherwise as flawless as she was.

He was surprised that she spoke at all and then he felt ashamed of himself for assuming that she did not — well, could not — speak.

Philip let her down, careful to let her lean most of her weight on him. "Are you all right?"

"If you help me I can walk," she said blankly.

Philip nodded. The more he thought about it, the more it confused him. She was being so cold to him but she had saved him from not only a gruesome death at the hands and fangs of her sisters but also from being crushed to death by a fiery column holding up the English lighthouse. What had happened?

"Why did you save me?" he asked her. "What made me different from any of the other men?"

"You were different," she said. "I could see it in your face."

Syrena tripped on one of the roots and fell beyond Philip's grasp … into Blackbeard.

Blackbeard caught her by the arm and lifted her out of Philip's reach. "So it is _not_ you she wants then, missionary."

"No … " he said, quickly. "It was an accident." He put his arm out for Syrena who reached for him as Blackbeard continued to hold her just out of reach.

"Listen, missionary — we've all been just as depraved as you have — though not all of us by choice," he said.

A few of the men looked back at Jack and Angelica who stepped out of the now dimming light.

"It will be night soon," Blackbeard called to the rest of the men. "We will make camp here for the night and if any of you touch _her_" he said, obviously referring to Syrena, "I will cut off every single one of your fingers.

The men began to shuffle around, getting ready for the fairly sleepless night ahead of them.

Blackbeard laughed. "Missionary, take your shirt back."

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><p><strong>Hey you guys! So I've decided that I'm going to give a sneakpeek by private message - so if you want to read a bit of Chapter 3 (which I will not be posting until this weekend) leave a review and I'll send a short preview of the chapter. Also, I've realized that this story is going to difficult to write under a T rating so that might be changing in the next few chapters as well . . . so thank you everyone for reading and favouriting ! I'm working on Chapter 3 (Liberation) and so far so good ! Happy Reading (and Reviewing) ! :) xx<strong>


	3. Liberation

**Hey, so I really want to make the chapters longer but I get so stressed feeling like you're all waiting for me . . . especially since I had the day off of school today haha So here is the third chapter, with a bit less than I had planned . . . but that will all go into Chapters 4 and 5. For all of you who are wondering about what happened with Jack and the mermaids, I'm pretty sure that's going to be in Chapter 5 or 6 so get ready ! :)**

**Thanks ! R&R ! xx**

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><p>Philip lay awake staring at the light coming from the tent a few meters past him from dusk until dawn. Blackbeard had ordered the other pirates to bind him to a tree far enough so he could not hear anything but close enough where he could hear and everything happening within the tent.<p>

There was a single tent in the middle of the clearing with every single man who sailed aboard Queen Anne's Revenge lying on the ground and across the trees like jungle creatures.

But that was not the only thing Philip noticed that night. Jack and Angelica had come and gone throughout the night and each time he heard them whispering.

" … as much as I agree with you, love, daddy dearest would not allow it. "

Angelica's voice was much softer when she spoke. "I saved your life. Sticks and stones, Jack. I saved your life and now you're saving mine."

"You took that from me — "

"As I remember, _you_ took that from _me_," said Angelica. "So tomorrow then?"

"Aye, love."

After some fairly ungodly noises, they reappeared among the rest of the camp.

Philip watched them as they stumbled silently in the darkness over the men who had been sleeping fitfully for the past few hours. His arms were numb from being in the same position for so long but he knew he could not let Syrena stay here. As long as she was here — with all of the pirates waiting to abuse her to get to the Fountain of Youth — she was not safe there. Though he could not guarantee her safety if they left the group, there was a far better shot out there than there was with Blackbeard and the crew from the Queen Anne's Revenge.

But was it worth it? The only way he was going to be able to escape with Syrena is if he lied and probably stole. Wasn't he here to save Blackbeard and all the men that Blackbeard looked to kill?

"Jack," he hissed. "Jack, come here."

He saw Jack come toward him.

"Allow me to be straight with you, missionary," Jack said. "I know you want to escape with your mermaid or whatever it is mermaids turn into when they get legs, it's irrelevant — but let me warn you none of them are what they seem. Take it from someone with experience. You might think you know what you're getting into but no one knows better than they do."

This was the most serious Philip had ever heard Jack say anything.

"But — "

"She will test you, missionary, and you more than anyone else. Just be sure that you will be willing to pay the price." He stared meaningfully at the tent and then back at Philip. "Now, what was it you were going to ask me?"

Jack turned toward the tent that was now lit but a lamp, making the shadows of the people inside cast up against the cloth walls.

"What is it that you and Angelica are doing tomorrow?" Philip said, not considering anything Jack had told him about Syrena. He wondered what had happened between Jack and the other mermaids that had made him so cautious of them — Jack Sparrow was not one to be cautious in any case.

"We are leaving," he said quietly. He leaned in closer to Philip. "The path to immortality is a weary and testing one but it is no worse than the one you are choosing, missionary." Jack put his arm out like he was going to embrace Philip but instead he used a knife in the sleeve of his shirt to cut the ropes that bound him to the tree.

"I'd be frightened if I were you Jack — mortality is not something meant to be in the hands of man," he said, holding the wooden cross that hung low on a leather cord around his neck.

"And that is why no one will remember your name," said Jack. He bowed his head and went off to find Angelica. The night sky was already beginning to brighten and in minutes it would be dawn.

That is what he had to decide. Minutes.

Jack was lying near Angelica, who was the only person to have a blanket to put between her and the mossy, dirty ground, but far enough away that when Blackbeard arose, he would not cause any suspicion.

In spite of everything he had heard about Captain Jack Sparrow and everything he had seen him do — however short a time he hand been around him — there was something about him that was good. There would be a chance for him to do the right thing and he would even if he had to lie and cheat to do it.

He looked over at Jack who nodded at him. Jack was telling him to go — to take Syrena and leave — to save her from Blackbeard and the other pirates.

What was he going to do? Philip slid his arms out of the ropes that Jack had cut and rushed over to the tent.

When he pushed the course fabric aside, he saw Blackbeard lying on the ground snoring loudly and Syrena asleep in the corner. The closer he got to her, the more it became clear that she wasn't asleep. She had passed out. From what, he did not want to know. He pulled her out and put his hand over her mouth to smother any noise indicating her surprise.

Syrena struggled against him until she saw him. She was wearing a loose pair of black canvas pants and since Blackbeard had given him back his shirt she was naked from the waist up. Her long hair covered most over but she still kept one arm tightly wrapped around her chest.

Again, he shed his vest and gave her his dingy white shirt, pulling the black vest back over his shoulders.

"I'm sorry," he began. "I — "

"What are you sorry for?" she asked, her eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"No, I just — I don't know, I'm just — I'm just sorry that I got you into all this in the first place. It wasn't your fault at all and I shouldn't have gotten you involved so I'm sorry," he said, obviously flustered.

"Is that all that you wanted to say?" she said. Her accent was so peculiar, though the fact that she lived in the ocean explained that fairly well.

"Well, no," he said. "I wanted to help you escape since I'm not here by choice either." Jack stood up and stretched to call Philip's attention. When Philip saw him, he jerked his head toward the far end of the clearing. The sun was going to be fully up soon and there was no time to waste. "But we have to go now," he said, lifting her off the ground and treading lightly over the men on the ground. He put her down once they were clear of them and they ran.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jack and Angelica head in the other direction. So that's why Jack helped him. They would go after the mermaid — who they needed to access the Fountain of Youth — before they would go after Jack and Angelica.

"Where are we going?" Syrena asked him breathlessly.

"We just have to get far enough away where they can't find us," he said. Philip pulled her with him, wanting to put as much distance between them and the camp as he could.

"Why are you doing this?" she said.

"You saved my life," he said as they slowed down. "Now, I'm saving yours."

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><p><strong>I promise there's going to be more with Philip and Syrena soon !<strong>

**So far I've been trying to peel the plot away from the movie's storyline and I think I've done it so there's going to be more Philip and Syrena awesomeness now - hopefully, you're not all sick of the pairing yet ! So stay tuned because the next chapter is Jack and the one after that is all Philip and Syrena ! R&R ! xx**


	4. Liaisons dangereux

**Hello ! So I've decided to push Jack's story back a bit but I promise all will be explained soon :)**

**I just wanted to thank Scarlett Sparrow's Fics for translating _Dragged to the Depths_ to French. Be sure to check out her English (or French) version of Birth of a Pirate ! It's a magnificent story about Jack before Pirates.**

**So here is the next chapter. . . It's more of a transitional chapter than an actual chapter so that's why it's so short. Keep an eye out for the next chapter !**

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><p>Syrena hardly said anything in the hours they spent fleeing from the Blackbeard and his crew.<p>

Philip was so angry with Jack that he hardly noticed. Where were they supposed to go? They were on an island in the middle of the Pacific and there was no way they were getting off without a ship. What if her sisters decided to get her back? They would kill him as violently as they killed the other men.

"Where do we go?" said Syrena.

He looked at her, studying her face. "You attacked me."

"No. You're different."

"Different?" he said.

"Are you not? You protect."

Philip studied her intensely. "Will you help me?"

"Help?"

There was something about the way she spoke that cleared his mind. He could not dislike her and he could not help but trust her. Even though he knew he would do anything to protect her there was still something about her. Something frightening about her that told him not to assume anything about her.

"Do you want to leave this place?"

Before she could answer, someone began to sing. The voice carried through the rainforest and filled Philip's chest like air. He began to walk toward the beautiful voice.

_Come live with me and be my love…_

"Wait," Syrena whispered.

Philip pushed through the brush and the forest plants to try to catch a glimpse of whatever was singing.

_And we will all the pleasures prove…_

"Philip! Wait!" Syrena called after him, but her voice was only a whisper in the distance now. She pushed through the brush and struggled against the forest to reach him before it was too late.

But soon, the one voice was joined by another and then another in a frighteningly beautiful harmony that blinded the man walking toward them. Syrena ran toward Philip and caught his arm. He pushed her away roughly and she fell to the ground. When he pushed back one of the tree branches she saw them.

Syrena hissed at the three mermaids in the small bay of seawater who instantly stopped singing. They all turned to her and their fangs appeared as quickly as they had stopped singing.

Philip took a step back and the three fanged mermaids all turned back to him.

"_Go away_," Syrena hissed in their own musical language. "_He's mine_."

"_It looks like there is enough to share_," one of the mermaids sung. "_Come, sister, share him with us_."

"Philip," Syrena called. "You have to hurry."

The others echoed his name seductively. He looked back at them for a moment and then went back to Syrena.

The mermaids screeched in raged and leaped back into the ocean.

Philip stared at the mermaids as they swam away, knowing that had he followed them, his fate surely would have been one worse than death. He looked at Syrena who was still lying on the ground. She looked at him sadly.

"I hate them — I hate being one of them. You do not need me to get off this island," she said. "I cannot leave. This is my home."

He helped her off the ground and apologized. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to — I was confused."

"I know what we do to you," she said. "You do not have to apologize. It is what we are."

"No," he said. "It's what they are, not what you are."

"What difference does it make?"

Philip watched as she pulled up one of the long sleeves of his shirt. "You can't leave?" he said, running his hands through his hair.

Syrena's face lit up. "There might be a way…"

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><p><strong>Philip and Syrena's adventure to follow !<strong>

**Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewing and adding this story to their alerts (it'd be awesome if you guys could review too haha) I really appreciate it !**

**Thanks ! R&R !**


	5. The Legend

**Hello everyone! Thank you so much for all the favouriting, alerts and reviews !**

**So I decided to make this one on the longer side because my last few updates have been so short. But I will start making them longer when I have the time to write them. I still haven't really decided when I'm going to talk about Jack and the mermaid but it will happen one of these days. :) I will definitely give you at least a chapters notice as well so you'll all know when it's going to be posted.**

**Also I was considering writing another fanfic and I was just wondering what you guys would like to have me write. And I'm totally down if it's not Pirates as well, unless it's something I don't read or watch - that might make things a bit difficult. Haha but let me know :)**

**Hope you enjoy ! R&R !**

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><p>Syrena remembered her sisters telling her the legend when she was younger but none of them could remember whether or not it was true. Mermaids did not believe in love so they usually disregarded anything that had to do with it. They all believed that the only thing sailors were good for was food and occasionally an ego boost.<p>

"What do you mean?" Philip asked her, unsure of what to expect. "There might be a way that you could leave?"

"There was this story that my sister, Ondine, always used to tell us when we were younger, but it happened so long ago that no one knows if it's true," she said, staring through the trees out toward the ocean.

"What was it?" he said.

"I — I don't remember. We have to go ask her," she said, looking hesitantly at Philip.

"Ask her?" he repeated. Asking one of Syrena's sisters something mean that they would have to go down to the bottom of Whitecap Bay and he was not too sure how comfortable he would be with that.

"But I go alone," she said.

Philip relaxed but still felt uneasy. "Mermaids have the ability to breathe life into a man underwater."

"Yes," she said. "But that is not all."

He waited for her to continue but she didn't. Philip opened his mouth to continue but he found himself unable to say anything either.

"If you want to call her up, you have to sing," she said. "Now that I think about it, I want you to hear the story too."

"Sing?"

"But we have to get closer," she said.

Syrena did not understand any of Philip's hesitation but she was sure to be wary because of what she remembered, she would need him to escape her sisters and the corrupt lives they lived.

Once they were on the sand, close enough where the sand of their feet was wet but not close enough that the wake had any chance to touch them. The moment water touched Syrena she would turn back into a mermaid and Ondine would refuse to speak to her on land.

"Sing," she said. "And you can't stop singing until she's on the shore or else she'll know what we're up to."

Philip began to sing.

"_When I was a lad in a fishing town _

_An old man said to me_

_Iain, you can live your life, your jolly life_

_A-sailing on the sea_

_You can search the world for pretty girls_

_Till your eyes are weak and dim_

_But don't go swimming with a mermaid, son_

_If you don't know how to swim_"

His voice was so beautiful. Syrena laughed at his choice of song and begun to sing with him.

"_When I was a lad in a fishing town_

_An old man said to me_

_Iain, you can live your life, your jolly life_

_A-sailing on the sea_"

Philip nearly stopped singing. Her voice was so beautiful that his voice was stifling it. The sound of his own voice was so scathing in comparison to hers.

"_You can search the world for pretty girls_

_Till your eyes are weak and dim_

_But don't go swimming with a mermaid, son_

_If you don't know how to swim_

Syrena saw her sister in the distance and they continued to sing. Soon, an inky haired mermaid appeared above the surface of the water. Her eyes were piercing and a navy blue. She spoke to her sister in their own language so that he would not understand, though all the while, she did not shift her gaze from Philip.

"She said she will speak to us if I take you underwater." Syrena took a deep breath and turned to Philip. "But she wants to be the one to kiss you," she said angrily, hissing at her sister.

"She's not going to…you know," he said.

"I don't think so," she said, shaking her head. "But you should know — "

Philip walked closer to the mermaid. The moment the wake touched his toes, he saw three other mermaids emerge in the distance.

" — once you kiss a mermaid, you cannot breathe air for three days," she said. Philip could tell there was something Syrena was leaving out but he left it alone.

He stared at Ondine and the mermaids approaching. The three had multiplied and there were a lot more than before.

"No," he said. He walked back to Syrena and pulled her into the surf. "I want it to be you."

Philip wrapped his arms around Syrena and pressed her to him. Her tail appeared and she pulled him deeper into the water as he kissed her.

Ondine screeched. The sound was so piercing underwater that Philip pulled away to cover his ears.

"I told you it was to be me," Ondine shrieked at them. Her voice was as fluid as when she spoke to Syrena in their language. "If you were hoping for a favor before, I am not going to help you." Her fangs appeared and she swam closer to Philip.

Syrena pushed Philip behind her. She hissed at her sister.

"We have to find Cecelia," Syrena said.

A few of the mermaids in the distance stayed there, swaying in the current. They were even more unsettling underwater than they were above it.

"Who are they?" Philip asked, surprised his voice was as serene as theirs underwater.

"Just stay clear of them and you should be all right," Syrena whispered, not answering his question. "Come on."

Syrena led him deeper into the cove until they found Cecelia. She was even more beautiful than Ondine. Her long chocolaty fell down her back and her tail was a pale pink.

"Sister," she smiled. "You've brought dinner."

Philip's heart skipped a beat.

"Oh, look at him," Cecelia laughed. "Don't worry, darling, if you've made it this far, it's clear that you aren't food anymore. At least to me."

"What is it that you need, little sister?"

"We were wondering if you could tell us about Henry and Lily," Syrena said.

"Of course, sister," Cecelia purred, staring straight at Philip. She smiled at him and then turned back to Syrena.

He felt a chill run up his spine.

"Long ago when there were hardly any mermaids in these waters, three sisters were born. Their names were Elizabeth, Philipa and Lily. The sisters had lived happy and easy lives because at this time mermaids were not as infamous as we are now. Men would come from all over the world to see if the legends were true, and every time they would fall prey to our sisters' tricks."

Philip felt his stomach turn. How many men had died in these waters?

"But there was one man who changed everything. Lily was singing to a man, Henry was his name, and he told her he was sorry. He entranced by her singing but he could see through it. He said he was sorry that such a beautiful creature lived such a horrid and bloodthirsty life. Lily could not bring herself to kill him. Instead, she wished to leave with him and live a human life — one of disease and unhappiness, clearly, but still she wanted to be with him. She wanted to do away with her old life and leave Whitecap Bay for whatever dangerous and monstrosities that lay in wait outside the Bay. She eventually figured out a way and the left, together."

"But how did they leave?" Syrena asked. "How did she become human? What did she do?"

Cecelia stared seductively at Philip. "She drank from the Fountain of Youth."

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><p><strong>Sketchy Business . . . haha just kidding. But I did want to let all of you know that this story (even though there is still a quest for the Fountain of Youth) will be straying far from the original story line . . . so if you're not down for plot that strays from the story [movie] then I would advise you not to continue. But if you don't like stories like that but you like my story then go for it and I look forward to your review :)<strong>

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter because I'm looking forward to writing the next one . . . which might possibly require a rating change . . .**

**R&R !**


	6. Jack

**Hi everyone !**

**I know I said I wasn't going to write the Jack chapter yet but I decided to anyway. I've been super busy with all my finals (I have to take them early because I'm leaving for two and a half months) and I haven't been able to write anything so I had half an hour and I wrote this. And I'm dead tired right now so I apologize in advance for all my mistakes. I'm pretty sure being this sleep deprived makes it difficult to write coherent sentences.**

**And I just got some new moleskines so hopefully it will be a bit easier to write without having to use my computer all the time ! I hope you enjoy this and I promise Philip and Syrena the next chapter - no fingers crossed this time :)**

**Happy reading ! R&R ! xx**

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><p>"Jack?"<p>

"Yes, love?"

"I heard what you said to that mermaid."

"No need to say it again then is there?" Jack said and then turned back to what he was doing.

Angelica stared at the ocean. They were on a cliff in the very center of the island that looked over both the island and the ocean. She knew there were many things she did not know but she was sure that she knew at least as much as Jack Sparrow.

"What happened?" she said.

"When? I must have missed it," he said, looking around.

"Jack. What happened with the mermaids?"

"You were there," he said. When she shot him a dirty look he spoke again. "I would not do the story justice."

She knew she was not going to get anything out of him. He would tell her only when he was in jeopardy of losing something and she knew that.

Jack knew exactly what she was talking about but he was not sure exactly how to tell her. It was not something he thought about often.

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><p>Twelve years earlier, in Tortuga, was the first time Jack had ever heard a mermaid tale. A man had walked into the tavern gasping for breath and in desperate need of drink. After he had a pint, he began his tale.<p>

A ship had come to dock with holes in the sides and slices down the sides. It had barely stayed afloat as it anchored. When he walked up to the side of the ship he saw that the scars were not from canons or even from swords, they were from fingernails. Every mark that looked like a sword swipe from afar was a set of five thin lines. Naturally, the sailors, being of the superstitious variety as most sailors are, believed that the ship was haunted. Scratched by the lost souls, which haunted it, no doubt trying to bring the great vessel down.

When two of them finally had the courage to step aboard, they headed straight to the captain's quarters. In the once grand cabin, there were corpses, laying on all sides of the room. But they weren't men. These corpses had long hair and tails — they were mermaids. The first man ran screaming from the ship but the second — the man in the tavern — stayed behind to catch the captain's last words.

"It was not," he whispered. "It never was…"

"Sir," cried the second man. "Sir, what never was?"

But by the time the captain opened his mouth again, the man claimed that he saw the man's spirit part with his body and head straight into the ground under their feet. And that was the end of the captain.

Upon further inspection, the second man found a map and a series of ships logs that all indicated the same thing. The ship was after mermaids — not only mermaids but one mermaid in particular.

"Who?" asked one of the men in the tavern. "Which one of the mermaids did they need? Where is she?"

"What did they need her for?" another man asked.

"Yeah," the rest of the men agreed. "What was she for?"

"I don't know," said the sailor. "They needed her scale but I never found what they needed it for. The ship sunk at the dock and the rest of the sailors died before the ship sunk."

There was a long silence before any of the men spoke.

Jack was unsure whether it was fear or stupidity that silenced them — both being a likely cause. But either way, it provided him with an escape route. He left the tavern and headed straight back to the Pearl. He had only been first mate on the Pearl for a few weeks and Captain Hector Barbossa had already begun to distrust him.

He told Barbossa what he had learned and suggested that they take a trip to see Tia Dalma. Barbossa told him there was no chance they were going to see that witch unless it was absolutely necessary and instead gave orders to set a course for Whitecap Bay.

The men reached the island with relative ease. They ran into no trouble until a few of them men set out to find some beast to slaughter for meat.

Jack strayed from the group when he heard voices. He always enjoyed hearing secrets — they gave him the upper hand and they were often more useful to him than they were to anyone else. But it was not men he heard speaking. It was women.

_Far across the briny sea_

_A roguish man I see_

_His hands are rough and dirty_

_But in them is the key_

Jack saw them before they saw him. There were three women, lounging on the tree branches like they were velvet thrones, but he knew better than to reveal himself so soon. Their voices were too beautiful to be human.

"Oh Eris, Delilah!" the most beautiful of the threesome called. "I do think we've found one."

"He is so beautiful," one of them whispered.

_My heart is pierced by Cupid_

_I disdain all glittering gold_

_There is nothing can console me_

_But my jolly sailor bold_

Their glorious and haunting melody floated through his head and cleared his mind of everything else.

He had forgotten most of what had happened after that but he did get the scale and he remembered that one of the mermaids promise him a thousand deaths more painful than anything in this life for what he had done to her but for the life of him he couldn't remember her name.

_Cecilia_, he recalled. _Her name was Cecilia_.

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><p>Angelica and Jack head in the direction his compass pointed them in. He knew where they were going but felt no reason to tell her. Jack knew that she would get it out of him soon — she just had to thing of a way.<p>

_Far across the briny sea_

_A roguish man I see_

"What was that?" Angelica whispered.

"We have to keep moving," he said.

As they walk on, Jack hears something and whirls around. Angelica was gone.

_His hands are rough and dirty_

_But in them is the key_

"Angelica," Jack called into the trees. "Angelica, where are you?"

He hears laughing and a chill runs down his spine. It was not Angelica.

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><p><strong>Shady, right? Philip and Syrena next !<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed ! R&R !**


	7. Sous Marine

**Hello everyone!**

**I am so sorry that it's been so long since I've updated. Since I last updated, I've moved to a different state, started senior year and applied to college. I haven't even had the opportunity to read anything not school related. I hope I haven't lost anyone and I hope to be able to write much more frequently considering I'm soon to be a second semester senior. Please leave any and as much feedback as possible, I want to make sure you all love my story as much as I appreciate you reading it.**

**Thank you for sticking with me! More to follow! R&R**

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><p>Philip opened his eyes, startled. He had yet to experience, in his young life, anything comparable to sleeping underwater. But there was a reason he had woken up so suddenly. He had felt something pulse through the water. It was a little bit uncomfortable, but more peculiar than uncomfortable. He felt it a second time and looked over to Syrena.<p>

"No," he said, knowing exactly what was on her mind.

"But we will be together," she said, moving toward him. She kissed his cheek. "What else could matter more than that?"

He felt the water rush past his palms as he moved them and wondered what it would be like to have no knowledge of the world above. He could only imagine the terror that would have overcome Syrena if her experience with the pirates had been the first time she surfaced.

Why would she ever choose a place like that over the ocean? The ocean was so serene and calming, just as she was.

Philip made a face that assured her he was not going to change his mind.

"How is it any different than what you've already done? You helped them there, willing or not." she asked, glancing quickly at the glittering surface above. It was in no way an accusation, but he could not understand her logic.

"How do you mean?" He pushed a few strands of his long hair back so that they did not block his vision.

"You cannot go on land," she said coolly, ignoring his confusion. Syrena leaned back so that her shining coral tail curled between the two of them. "You have to stay below the surface for two more days and if you so much as breathe air, your soul with separate from your body faster than even the Fountain of Youth could heal you. But either way, there is a much safer way to reach the Fountain of Youth."

"It is not the quest that concerns me," he muttered.

"What is it?"

"Immortality is not meant for us," he said. "If God – if we were meant to be immortal, we would be. I love you, Syrena. You are certainly more beautiful and more kind than anyone I have encountered. But of one thing I am absolutely sure." Syrena furrowed her brow. He touched her cheek. "If I were to lose you, I would have no reason to go on living."

"But we are," she said. "But I am."

"What are you?"

"We – Mermaids are immortal, Philip. We only die at the hands of humans," she said. "By drinking water from the Fountain of Youth, I would lose my immortality and become human. I would be more like you." She drifted closer to him, her stare melting his anger away.

She reached out and touched his cheek.

Philip stared into her eyes and relaxed. "No matter what happens, I can take no part in it. The fountain was never meant to be found. No man should ever go to it, no matter what the circumstance. We will find a way and it will be without the fountain."

"I cannot leave you here." Syrena moved away from him and glanced over her shoulder.

The water pulsed again.

"What was that?"

"My sisters." Syrena looked angrily over her shoulder and hissed at them, her teeth bared.

Philip's gazed pushed past Syrena and he saw them, surprised and glad that he had not seen anything before.

Hovering, at a ten meter radius around them, there were hundreds of mermaids, their sharp teeth bared and surely ready to sink into his flesh.

"What do they want?"

"They are confused why I brought one of my captors down. They want to know why I will not share."

The pulse ran through the water again, and Philip could see that it was the only thing keeping the mermaids at bay. How any ship could sail through these waters without fear of these mermaids astounded him. Philip had seen many things in his young life, many things that would make powerful men cower, but none of them compared to the swarm of hauntingly beautiful and dangerous women, whirling in the waters around him.

"Please," Syrena said. "Do not be afraid. You are safe."

Philip tried to trust her and trained his gaze on her face, but all he could feel were the hundreds of eyes burning through him, waiting to attack at any opportunity they were given.

Syrena stared at him, her warm brown eyes softened by the sea. "I want to become human. I want to be with you. I would rather die than allow the sea to separate us."

Philip looked at her. He could see the sincerity he heard in her voice in her expression. "It will be dangerous," he said. "And there will be a lot of obstacles in our way."

"But we will be together," she said, grinning.

Philip smiled tightly. "That's all we can hope for."

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><p><strong>More on Jack and Angelica in the next couple chapters! xx R&amp;R<strong>


	8. Jack and the Mermaid, Pt I

**Dude! I've done it again. So let's just pretend that three months is a week. I've been super busy - got into college (yay!) and I'm going to Australia and Hong Kong in a couple weeks. So here is a chapter, more to come, and I hope you all enjoy it :)**

**R & R! x**

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><p>It was ten years ago that it happened. Eight years ago, Jack met Cecilia. She was dangerous, beautiful, and quick. Everything about her seemed to lure Jack in. He knew she would never forgive him for what he did.<p>

Jack was barely twenty and already he was branded with 'P' of piracy from his brush with the East India Trading Company.

To escape hanging, Jack had joined the crew of the most prestigious ship afloat: _The Pearl_. It did not take him long to fall into Captain Barbossa's good graces – that was the easy part. Staying there was the difficult part. It had only been a couple weeks since he was made first mate and Barbossa had already begun to watch him. There was a thin line between where he was with Barbossa and the captain complete distrusting him. He needed to regain the man's trust.

After he had heard the man in the tavern, he headed back to the ship. It was the perfect opportunity. He worked it all out before he even reached the gang plank of the Pearl. He would suggest they set course to see the sorceress Tia Dalma. Of course, Barbossa would disagree and fob off the idea because it was a poor decision. He would empower Barbossa and give the captain no reason to believe that he would ever turn to treachery, or even be capable of being an efficient captain.

Once he got to the Pearl, he played the part flawlessly. Barbossa did not give him a second glance for the first time in days. The men set course for Whitecap Bay.

The Pearl made it to Whitecap Bay with relative ease. Barbossa had the men steer the ship into small cove that almost ran the ship aground. Some of the men were ill at ease, while others seemed to vehemently disagree with the captain – saying that running the ship so close to the shore would strand them. Whenever complaints arose, the captain would not address them, he would merely chuckle to himself and order that the man be made to scrub the ship clean. The complaints died out over the first couple hours.

Jack was put in charge of the venture onto the island. He was to chose three men to go with him. In order to go along with his earlier plan, Jack declined and said he would only take two. Barbossa laughed, saying Jack had no idea what he was getting himself into. Jack was not entirely sure what he was getting himself into, but he wanted Barbossa to believe that, whether or not it was true.

Jack had to choose two men.

The first was a deserter. Charles Gibson had been a part of the English Royal Navy, until he his was captured and tortured by an enemy ship. They had managed to get him back but not before the pirates had disfigured him. Gibson refused to speak of what happened to him but he had long, ugly white scars running down his thick tan arms.

Jack was sure that the scars were not the only things that his torturers had left him with but he decided that it was none of his business either way.

The second man aboard was Nathaniel Butler. He was a young boy who had always wished to go out to sea but his mother had never let him. Jack found him in a tavern after he had run away from home. He was young — younger than Jack and even though he talked incessantly, he seemed like he would be a good shipman and wily kid – good to have in a rough situation – so Jack allowed him aboard his rowboat.

Before they left, Jack asked Barbossa what he needed.

"Find me a mermaid," was all he said. No one had heard their captain give the first mate his orders.

Was that the reason they were there?

Jack, being younger than Gibson, but older than Butler, decided to remain in charge considering it was his voyage as first mate. He had no heading, as he had refused to ask Barbossa what they were being sent out for, which forced him he followed Gibson's instruction.

"We'll go east," was all Gibson said when asked for a heading.

"East we shall," Jack nodded.

Night fell and the men remained in the dinghy. Unsure if they should go to the shore or wait. Eventually, Jack noticed the old mossy lighthouse but thought nothing of it and said nothing about it. He decided, either way, they should get to the shore.

The three men moved slowly through the water, watching the shore carefully to make sure they were not in for any surprises.

"Did you see that?" Nathaniel whispered.

Jack turned to look at where Nathaniel was pointing. "What was it?"

"It looked like a woman," he said.

"Mermaids," said Gibson.

Jack looked at Gibson, glad he had brought him along. Especially if he knew anything that could help them catch one.

"You're pulling my leg," Nathaniel said, making light of what the serious man had said. "Mermaids don't ex — "

The boat jolted violently.

"Jack, what was that?"

Jack looked at the boy and back at the man who was not stoically silent. He knew Gibson was right but he was not going to tell Nathaniel that. He said nothing. While they made it to the sand without any trouble but both Jack and Gibson were sure that they were in for a lot more than trouble if they stayed on the island.

"What are we supposed to do here?" Nathaniel asked.

Before anyone had a chance to answer they heard singing.

_My heart is pierced by Cupid_

_I disdain all glittering gold._

_There is nothing can console me_

_But my jolly sailor bold._

_Come all you pretty fair maids_

_Whoever you may be_

_Who love a jolly sailor bold_

_That plows the raging sea._

_My heart is pierced by Cupid_

_I disdain all glittering gold._

_There is nothing can console me_

_But my jolly sailor bold._

"What's that?" asked Nathaniel.

"Shut up, boy, they'll hear you," Gibson said.

Soon one voice was joined by another, and then another. Nathaniel followed the voices before Jack or Gibson could do anything. The water was lapping around his knees when the mermaids' webs grabbed him and ripped him apart before he hit the water. It was a morbid sight and all Jack or Gibson could do was stand there and watch.

"Stupid boy," Gibson said, turning his back on the water and heading toward the jungle.

Jack followed him, telling him that Barbossa had sent them to capture a mermaid.

"Capture a mermaid?" he laughed. "He sent us on a wild goose chase. Two men could never capture a mermaid." He sat in the sand. "We would need at least three or four men."

Jack looked sheepishly at the ocean and then back to Gibson. "There has to be a way."

"I'm sure there are," he said, "but not where both of us would get back to the ship alive. There's no way that I'm risking my life to get some uppity captain a mermaid."

"What does he need it for?" Jack said.

"A lot of things in this world require something from a mermaid," he said. "Their tears, their scales, their blood. They are the children of the sea and we are men of the sea. We need them as much as they need us."

"What do they need us for?" he said.

Gibson laughed. "Haven't you heard the tales before, lad?"

Jack ignored his condescending tone considering everything the man must have seen. A man with scars like his could look down on any man. "What tales?"

"Mermaids devour us. Look at what they did to the boy."

"I just thought they were territorial," Jack said. "Do they really…" He clawed at the air and made chewing noises.

"Yes," he said. "They're all beautiful – this is an island full of the most beautiful women you will ever see in this short time you have in this life, but they're deadly. Grow teeth sharper than the finest blade at the smell of human blood. Claws too in some stories. God knows what they really are, hardly any live to speak of them."

"So how are _we_ going to do it, more importantly?"

"We'll have to see in the morning. Mermaids are nasty business, but they are simpler to deal with in daylight. It is easier to see what's lurking under the surface."

"In the morning then?" Jack said.

"The morning," Gibson confirmed.

"Why didn't we bring any rum?"

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><p><strong>Part II is on the way. See you then! x<strong>


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